My wife, toddler and I stayed in an Ocean Front Suite at the Grand Hyatt the week of October 12th. We agree with the consensus view of previous reviewers that the grounds are gorgeous; the pools and lagoon unparalleled; the rooms average and the service good most of the time but not always. But I would like here to write about a few things that left a strong impression on me (good and bad).

Suite -- The suite is not worth one third of the sticker price. Yes, it was vast at 1200 sq. feet; our toddler could have played soccer in the living area. The jacuzzi, stand alone shower and vanity were nice touches. The bed was comfortable. But the room felt gloomy and spartan. There were few paintings on the wall; the furniture seemed cheap (the sofas were almost Holiday Inn cheap) and the lighting in the bathroom was unbelievably harsh. Everything seemed dated: wood chipping at the corners; paint peeling; discoloration of the tiles behind the tub. Now this may seem unduly picky, but the room is $ 2000.00+. I expect more for that price, a lot more. The suite just didn't have the feel of a 5 star hotel suite.

Service -- The service is definitely not up to a 5-star hotel's. I consider the Four Seasons, Peninsula and Mandarin to be 5-star hotels from the perspective of service. The employees are highly professional and seem to respond to your questions before you ask them. At the Grand Hyatt, the staff was warm and casual, which is fine particularly for a beach resort, but sometimes they were just too amateurish. The Valet in particular was horrible. We often had to wait several minutes for someone to take our car. They didn't offer free water and they seemed almost indifferent. On one occasion, we had to run to the room to get something for our son -- they refused to let us leave the car there. So, we went to the room and immediately called to have them bring it around! The end result was no different for us; the Valet just came off as unaccomodating.

All this being said, the room service staff was excellent and gave us more information about the island than the concierge. Housekeeping was great and the Front Desk was very professional and accomodating.

Food -- overpriced and average. I suggest going to Roy's a few blocks up. It's some of the best food I've ever had. Puca Dogs is excellent for a quick, scrumptuous but unhealthy lunch. Try their fresh, squeezed lemonade.

Concierge -- The concierge staff was very knowledgeable and polite. However, even though there were three attendants, we often had to wait a long time to speak to someone. Also, the hotel didn't tell us about excursions/tours if it didn't have some kind of relationship with the providor. The concierge staff made it seem like only one company took people by boat to see the Na Pali coast. And when we asked about other options, they were not forthcoming.

Internet -- There was no wireless internet access in our room though the ethernet connection worked fine.

This review may seem overly critical, but that's only because I'm not repeating all the incredible things that other people have said about it. It's a great hotel and we had a lot of fun. But it's just too expensive for what it is -- a hotel that is mostly 4-star but has 5-star grounds. I would be interested to see what happens when the St. Regis is completed. Maybe that will drive the prices down? If I had to go to Kauai again, I would still stay at the Hyatt because it seems like the best hotel on the island, but it could be better.

As an aside -- and this has nothing to do with the hotel but I don't know where else to share my thoughts on the matter -- AVOID FLYING UNITED TO GET TO KAUAI AT ALL COSTS. We flew from LAX. We got to the airport 2 1/2 hours before our flight but were bumped off because United had overbooked us. They gave us $ 400.00 each, but it wasn't enough to cover all the costs we incurred from extending our trip for a day (e.g., extra night in a hotel, rental car to get back to the hotel in LA, new return flights -- we had to pay a $ 100.00 per person cancelation fee for JetBlue; United should have given us free tickets as replacements). Then, when we showed up the next day, we found that our seats were not in the same row! It was very hard to make the desk staff them see that our 2-year old couldn't sit on his own! When we got to the airport for our return flight, all the attendants were pre-occupied with passengers on the flight to Denver, which had been cancelled two nights in a row!

We arrived on Labor Day weekend, but our trip was unexpectantly cut short and we had to return home early. This review will highlight a few elements of our trip that might be helpful, but it isn't exhaustive due to the brief stay. After arriving at the airport I called ahead at 2 pm and learned our room was not ready -- we then had a late lunch prior to checking in on Poipu Beach at Brennecke's, which was a lot of fun and we avoided the frustration of the room not being ready. When we did check in, the staff was extremely friendly and professional and, maybe since we were in such a good mood from the Mai Tai's, they upgraded us to a beautiful ocean front suite! We enjoyed swimming in the pools (and the expensive pool bar drinks), and the gardens are lovely. The Sunday night sushi dinner at Stevenson's Library (and music) was lively and I'm glad we bailed from Tidepools restaurant, which, when we were there, was a little tired (but I would probably try it again over Donatello's). The management was very understanding when we quickly checked out, and I will definitely look forward to returning to this Hyatt (maybe a few days here and then try out the new St. Regis).

I want to give this property 5 stars, but after staying at true Hawaiian 5 star properties (Hualalai - 4 Seasons, Halekulani), this property just does not measure up.

On the physical level, it is certainly the nicest property on Kauai (until St. Regis is done) and lacks nothing in view, rooms, pool, etc. My issue is that I never felt fully welcome as a guest, but rather had an ongoing nagging that I was a customer. I guess the closest thing I could compare it to is when you go to the movie theatre and you're stuck with paying the high concession prices.

Virtually nothing at the GH is free. At every turn there are little things to add on to your bill and nothing truly offered in a generous "aloha" spirit. Simple things like bottled water at the valet (or in the room fridge - even your first two little bottles) are either not there or charged at some exorbitant rate. I'm not cheap and I know Hawaii is expensive, but $45 for a plate of $3 spaghetti? The Hyatt seems to make trade in attracting large corporate groups with lower than Maui/Oahu room rates only to stick it to people with bogus charges ($15 resort fee that covers exciting things like 10% off in the overpriced gift shop). Hyatt figures they have these business travelers trapped. I mean $14.99 a day for internet access and no wifi in the rooms? Who is kidding whom?

On the bright side, the Starbucksish cafe in the lobby is really well planned out and fairly priced. The Golf Clubhouse/Yum Cha are much better than the main hotel restaurants - they seem to be run by another vendor that understands good service and fair pricing.

Go and enjoy the Hyatt for all that it is and the beauty of Kauai, but expect to feel a little shortchanged when you leave.

This was our 6th trip to Kauai and 4th to the Grand Hyatt. It's still a very lovely property - eveything you could expect in a Hawaiian resort. Of course, the room was great and the pools are still wonderful. A solid choice, and certainly the best until the new Princeville/St. Regis reopens.

Usually, we get upgraded since we travel during off-peak seasons, but this time was definitely not the case. Turns out it was because of a bunch of weddings and some stodgy convention, but they didn't mention at check-in when we asked why no upgrade. We had to pay an extra $80 a night for the view, which I think stinks. Also, they wouldn't let us cash in our Hyatt Rewards points for an upgrade (not such a rewarding program, really). We tried to use them for a free night, but they said the free night doesn't count for an ocean view room, so we got the free night, but still had to pay the upgrade fee. Tourism in Hawaii is suppoesd to be down 20%, the paper wrote about it often while we were there, so I really think our experience was most unfortunate.

Be advised, the concierge will point you to their own stuff, so you'd do well to do your own homework about food and activities using guidebooks before you get there. For example, the only snorkel trip they told us about (even after we asked for other options) was Blue Dolphin, and they had convenient full-color laminated photos to share. We went with HoloHolo instead and checked out Niihau. They're a great group, by the way - loved it, but would have liked to see more of Napali than they showed on the Niihau trip.

Breakfast buffet is $28 each and I don't think worth it. It's better to grab something from the coffee bar and enjoy the same view. Also, speaking of food, Yum Cha is the resort's Asian restaurant, and NOT good. You're better off heading to Kapa'a for Mema's thai if you're in the mood for that. Also, Brick Oven pizza was delicious, Roy's always great, and I'm addicted to Puka Dogs (in the Poipu shopping center).

The construction at their Anara Spa is finished. It's still a nice spa, but I found it way too expensive. Earlier on this trip, we went to the Grand Wailea spa in Maui, which is much better - by FAR - and cheaper too. Plus, they actually discounted their rates b/c of the economy. They charged less than what was published b/c times are slow. That was excellent! We actually booked more and spent more than we were going to there as a result. That's partly what makes the experience at Anara even harder to take. They actually charge $20 more per couple for a massage than if you each booked them individually. Wailea charged less per couple than if they were individually booked, which is really as it should be. All you're paying for is to sit in a special waiting area that they don't bring you back to until 5 minutes before your session, sit with other waiting couples, then lay side by side in your treatment hale. It's pretty back there, but certainly not worth the extra gouging for it. Bad form, Anara.